by Paul Bristow
After a few seconds of nothing happening, his eyes flashed green. He moved his hand a quarter turn to the left, then all the way over to the right. There was another flurry of bubbles, and the darkness that had surrounded them began to shimmer with an eerie luminous green glow. The glow was coming from a crack that had started to widen in front of them, like a huge eye slowly opening after centuries of sleep.
Oily green and purple bubbles began to rise slowly towards the surface, like the thick blobs inside a lava lamp. Mr Finn stared into the growing gap, unclipped some sample tubes from his diving suit, and began catching bubbles. TJ stared at the rising bubbles. He reached out to touch one and it burst, sending green liquid sinking back to the riverbed.
Then all the bubbles started bursting, and they were lost in a swirl of purple and green as a shark and a killer whale rammed into Resilience and Destiny.
Chapter 44.
High and Dry
Shark-Cam swung back towards Mr Finn, who was floating above a massive chasm in the riverbed. He saw the panel with the sigils slotted into it, and realised what had happened.
He’s opened it, we’re too late, he thought. Cam tried to peer through the bubbles at what lay behind Watt’s shield. Before he could get a closer look, a huge jagged arm swept down towards him. Resilience was slower under the water, but that didn’t make it any less strong. John, only a few metres away, turned and blasted through the water like a torpedo towards Resilience, throwing all of his strength into his attack. The robot shuddered, allowing Cam to swim out of the way. However, the impact had been too much for John, and Cam watched in horror as the old man changed back into his human form and sank, unconscious, to the bottom of the river.
In the churning chaos caused by the fighting, TJ was still striving to protect Mr Finn, and so had begun dragging him, struggling, back towards the lopsided sub.
Cam also turned back to his human form, as he couldn’t think of any other way to move John. Must work out how to do Octopus, he thought, or merman.
Chronos stared at the toppled Resilience and continued marching across the riverbed towards them. Cam couldn’t hold his breath much longer. He didn’t think he’d be able to carry John up to the surface and deal with Chronos while he was at it.
Maybe I won’t get a chance to do octopus after all, he thought.
Just as Chronos was almost upon them, it wobbled and shuddered as if the ground was shifting beneath it. A black shape swam quickly around the sculpture, darting in between its grasping arms and stomping feet. Sand and silt from the riverbed began to rear up: a huge tidal wave of dirt slowly overwhelmed Chronos. The robot toppled and sank beneath the silt, buried to the waist.
That was when Cam saw the girl. She was wearing a wetsuit, but no mask. Weirdly, that didn’t seem to stop her from breathing. She smiled and waved briefly at Cam, then pointed upwards. She began twirling the pointing finger, and all around them, the water began to swirl and churn.
She’s controlling the water, thought Cam. She’s our number five!
Carried by the girl’s current, Mr Finn, TJ, John and the Destiny submarine floated to the surface. As they all rose, the girl swam to John, and took both his arms before shooting upwards, leaving only bubbles in her wake. Cam was swept up after them, and burst out of the water gasping for breath.
Above the water, Megan had already grabbed Mr Finn and hauled him up into the sky. She looked angrier than Cam had ever seen her – and Cam had made her angry more times than anyone else. She dropped Finn into a small dinghy below, where a rope began tying itself around him.
Kevin gave Mr Finn a few seconds to scream with terror before he appeared. “Only me,” he said, waving the end of the rope in his hand.
“Meg, it’s too late,” shouted Cam, “it’s open. All this weird colourful stuff is leaking out.”
But Megan wasn’t listening. She had spotted the girl, who was struggling to keep John afloat. John was coughing and spluttering, but at least he was breathing. She flew down to help.
“So our number five turned up!” added Cam.
“You are kidding!” Megan laughed and turned to the girl. “You’re here just in time…Water powers, right?”
“Yes but…”
“Awesome! Back in a minute.” Megan lifted John from the water and flew back towards the dockside, seating him against one of the few walls that were still intact.
“Are you ok?” asked Megan, because that’s the first thing you say to people when you know they aren’t.
“Few wee bruises,” said John, coughing and spluttering. “I’ve had worse.”
“I’m so sorry I asked you to go down there.”
John shook his head and waved away her concerns. “Look, it’s not over yet. You guardians need to lock the shield back up. We have no idea how dangerous all the stuff that’s leaking out is.”
“I know. We’re all here now. We can do this.” Megan squeezed John’s hand and then flew back out over the river.
Cam, Kevin and the water girl had managed to get TJ into the dinghy, but he was inactive. Megan hovered above the surface of the water and smiled again at the water girl who had rescued her friends.
“Hi again. I’m assuming Cam hasn’t done introductions ‘cause he’s really rude,” said Megan, reaching out to shake the girl’s hand. “I’m Megan.”
“Lily,” said the girl, smiling.
“Hi Lily. I’m not sure how you’re here, but I’m really pleased you are. We have so much to talk about, but right now it would be great if you and Cam could get back under the water and try to lock the power back up…”
“The big crack that all the glowing bubbles are leaking from,” explained Cam, “just next to where you sunk the robot.”
“Right,” said Lily. “Uhm… how do we do that?”
“I’ll show you when we’re down there,” said Cam.
“And while you’re doing that, I’ll try and fix TJ,” said Megan, “because he needs to get down there as well to close it properly.”
“This is the best day ever,” said Kevin, tying Mr Finn’s knots just a bit tighter.
“You ready Lily?” asked Cam.
Lily nodded, and began sinking bank under the river. Cam began his transformation into a seal, and seconds later they were gone.
Megan opened the panel in TJ’s head and water slooshed out everywhere. The same thing happened again when she opened his chest panel.
“Oh. That’s probably not good, is it?” said Mr Finn.
“He’s been around for over two hundred years,” said Megan. “He’s very resilient.”
“Yes. My robots are too.”
“Kevin, could you gag Mr Finn or something? Just with anything you can find. Rope, socks, fish… whatever.”
Happy to be of further use, Kevin forced some of the remaining rope into Mr Finn’s mouth.
Megan could see that all TJ’s wires and cables were still there; they were just a bit damp. She reconnected her Goozberri Five, once again bypassing Mr Finn’s chip.
Everything was reconnected. All the water had been emptied out of his head. Nothing.
“Of course,” said Megan, pressing the button on TJ’s neck. “Reboot!”
There was some fizzing and sparking from inside TJ, but his eyes flickered to life again, back to his familiar flashing blue.
“Megan,” said TJ. “Oh no, Megan…”
“I know TJ, you couldn’t help it. It’s ok.”
“No. Megan. Look out.” TJ pointed upwards. Phoenix was hovering above them, ready to swoop down and strike.
Chapter 45.
Sink and Swim
Megan flew upwards without thinking, smashing into the side of the huge metal bird. It pushed down, gripping her with its talons and swooping low, forcing her towards the river and under the water. Spluttering, Megan twisted around so she was facing away from Phoenix, then used its strength to propel herself upwards and over the top of the robot in an arc.
Hey, thought Megan, finally got th
at loop the loop right.
John watched from the dockside. He could see Megan dodging and weaving in the sky, trying to evade Phoenix. He could also see that around their little dinghy, the river had started to glow. He kept trying to change, but he was too weak. Suddenly, there was a rumble from the sheds. John turned, fearing the worst. Sure enough, there was Evolve, rolling slowly towards him.
***
Beneath the river, unaware of the trouble above, seal-Cam had led Lily back down to the shield. Lily spotted the four sigil coins and removed them, but the gate remained open. They would need Jimmy and all the sigils in place to lock it again. She put them back in their slots and pointed upwards so seal-Cam could understand he needed to fetch TJ.
Cam was starting to think it was nearly all finished when Resilience reappeared out of the dark water behind Lily and grabbed her arm.
***
Meanwhile, back on the dinghy, Kevin realised it was his turn to be a hero.
“How can we help?” said TJ.
“I’ve got an idea,” he told TJ. “Mr Finn said you were on the same frequency as his robots, right?”
Mr Finn glared at Kevin, which made Kevin even more sure he was on the right track.
“That is correct,” said TJ.
“So… is there a way we could send a signal to help you control them?”
“It is possible to transmit the control signal using my Morse-code machine,” said TJ. “Then I would control the sculptures.”
“Excellent! What’s the signal?”
“U. R. V.” said TJ. “Dot dot dash. Dot dash dot. Dot dot dot dash.”
Kevin tapped out the signal.
“Now issue this command,” said TJ. “Dash dash dash. Dot dot dash dot. Dot dot dash dot.”
“What’s that?” said Kevin, tapping the signal out.
“Off.” said TJ.
Under the water, the lights went out in Resilience’s eyes and he let go of Lily.
On the dockside, Evolve’s slow rumble towards John abruptly ceased.
And in the sky above, Phoenix stopped, and plunged down to the river, dragging Megan with it as it fell.
TJ immediately dived in after her.
***
Megan had never really liked the water. Even though she had learned to swim well, she never enjoyed it. And now that she was so used to spinning and twirling in the air, being underwater made her feel much heavier than it ever had before. Although, to be fair, the fact that she was tangled up in a huge metal sculpture probably wasn’t helping.
Below, she could make out the two dark shapes of seal-Cam and Lily, silhouetted against the green glow. She was sinking fast, looking down upon it all like one of those dreams where you are falling. With a slow bump, the statue settled at the bottom of the river.
At once, Cam and Lily were beside her, trying to pull her free from Phoenix. Megan was still holding her breath, but she knew if they couldn’t loosen Phoenix’s grip soon, she would be in serious trouble. So she was delighted to see TJ landing on the riverbed beside them. He pulled at the statue too, bending back the wings until Megan was free.
Lily grabbed her and began swimming quickly up to the surface. Even as they sped upwards, time seemed to slow down. Megan saw TJ place his hand on the shield’s panel, turning it first right then left, and the gap in the riverbed slowly began to close. She caught one quick glimpse of strange moving colours within – what looked like electrical and chemical lights flickering into life – and then the shield was shut.
Chapter 46.
Hello and Cheerio
Kevin had rowed back over to the dock and was sitting beside John when the others finally emerged from the river. Mr Finn sat scowling in the dinghy.
“Did you do it?” said John, wincing as he stood up. “Is it locked?”
“The power under the river is safe,” said TJ. “We need only hide the sigils once again.”
“Brilliant!” said John. “I knew you could do it.”
“What is it we did exactly?” asked Lily.
Megan smiled. “Sorry Lily, you must think we’re all really rude. We’d only just met and I was ordering you to dive under the river with a total stranger and fight giant robots.”
“Well, it’s certainly one way to get to know new people,” said Lily.
“That’s a good point,” said Megan, “proper intro-ductions. You know Cam and me, that’s Kevin in the dinghy, the robot is called Tin Jimmy, but we all call him TJ, and this is John. He’s sort of a retired guardian, and our coach!”
“Hello.” Lily smiled and gave an embarrassed wave.
“And I’m Mr Finn,” said Mr Finn through the rope in his mouth.
“Ignore him,” said Cam, “he’s the baddie.”
“And he’s in big trouble,” said Kevin. “It seems that someone has tipped off the police about all the strange weapons in his house and the mess his sculptures have made. They’re on their way.”
Mr Finn glared at Kevin.
“And when I say ‘someone’, I mean ME,” beamed Kevin.
“Yeah Kev, we got that,” said Cam.
Megan sat down next to Lily, who was still looking a bit confused.
“So Lily, I’m guessing you’ve figured out that we all have something in common?” asked Megan.
“Yes,” said Lily, “but I don’t know what you mean by ‘guardian’. I saw you a few times before, at the dam and the river… and I wanted to say hello but… today I just knew I had to come here.”
“Was there a fizzing in your chest?” asked Kevin. “Like too much sherbet and curry powder mixed together?”
“That’s it! What does it mean? Why do we have superpowers?”
John smiled. “You all have a lot of catching up to do,” he said. He began limping towards the warehouse door.
“We need to get you to a hospital first, John,” said Megan.
“Rubbish,” he said. “Wind on my face, grass underfoot and I’ll be fine.” He turned and winked at Cam. “This guy knows what I mean.” John then hobbled back to Megan and gave her a little hug. “Thanks for rescuing me,” he said.
“We all did it together!” said Megan.
“No, I mean before. When I was hiding in a cave.” He quickly turned his attentions to the robot. “Jimmy! It was great to work with you again. I think it’s fair to say you’ve aged better than me.”
“There have been many replacement parts,” said TJ.
John nodded and smiled. “Kevin, Lily, stick in with this lot, they’ll see you right. Help me to the road Cam, would you? I think I’m feeling well enough to change and head home for a rest now.”
Cam walked slowly with John, out into the unusual sun of a spring day. The river sparkled, and the green of the hills shimmered in the heat.
“Do you remember when we were wolves, Cam?”
“Course I do. It was amazing.”
“Exactly. But you can have too much of a good thing,” said John. “Two feet on the ground, mind.”
“I know,” said Cam. “I won’t forget.”
Cam watched the black cat pad gently out of the docks, heading for the wide-open spaces.
Chapter 47.
Beginnings and Endings
“I still can’t believe we did it,” said Megan quietly, the enormity of the day before finally catching up with her. “We really did it…” She jumped up and hugged a surprised Cam, lifting him slightly off the ground, then she ran and kissed TJ on his tin cheek.
They had brought the new guardians to John’s cave, but John was nowhere to be seen.
“Yeah, it was amazing!” said Kevin, slightly fading away with excitement. “What should we do next? Let’s make some plans!”
“Chippy? I’m starving,” said Cam.
“We should have a team name,” said Kevin, “like Awesome Patrol or Mega-Amazing Force! I could draw us a logo.”
Megan laughed. “I do feel pretty mega-amazing.”
“I also think codenames would be cool,” said Kevin.
<
br /> “I said that ages ago Kev, but we decided not to bother,” said Cam.
“No, I think you were right,” said Megan. “We can’t keep shouting our own names at one another during fights with supervillains, can we?”
“Brilliant!” said Kevin, taking a folded-up bit of paper out of his pocket. “I’ve got some suggestions. For you Megan, how about Velocity Girl! Or Sparrowhawk!”
“Sparrowhawk?” said Cam. “That’s rubbish.”
“I’ve already thought of mine,” said Megan, thinking of her gran. “I’m Kite.” Megan put on her best serious superhero face and floated up into the air with her hands on her hips, “Kite, scourge of the skies.”
“You sure you don’t mean ‘Balloon, full of hot air’?” said Cam. “What’s mine then Kev?”
“I was thinking you could be Metamorpho! Or Wereboy!”
Megan snorted. “Definitely Wereboy. Very cute. Sounds like a cuddly toy.”
“Cameron could be called The Amazing Hamster Boy,” said TJ. “Or perhaps just Hamster Boy.”
“I’d prefer Kid Kong,” said Cam.
“You change into all sorts of things though,” said Megan.
“Yeah but gorilla’s the coolest one.”
“Just now,” said Megan, “but you might find cooler things to turn into.”
“Like a jellyfish perhaps,” said TJ, “or a sloth.”
“This is actually quite tricky, isn’t it?” said Cam, ignoring TJ and thinking hard. “Cam-eleon?” Cam growled and did his superhero pose, “Cam-eleon, king of the jungle.”
“Lions are King of the jungle,” said TJ, “chameleons are tiny lizards.”
“Ok, the catchphrase needs work, but the name’s staying.”
“What about you, Kevin?” said Megan.
“Wraith!” said Kevin.
“That’s a bad-guy name,” said Cam. “He’d be like your invisible arch-enemy.”